How to Use Our Best Fit Tool

When you’re on Mastersportal you’re trying to find the programme that matches you best, right? You can immediately make your search based on the subject or place you’re interested in, and then find thousands of degree programmes that match your search. Now, you can also find out how well the programme fits your unique profile, with the help of our Best Fit Tool.

The tool asks some questions about your academic and financial situation and uses complex algorithms to determine how well your provided data fits your desired programme. These algorithms were developed by Studyportals working together with experts in international higher education admission. We will keep on refining the Best Fit Tool to provide the best estimation we can of your programme fit.

What is the Best Fit tool?

From now on, most of our programmes on Mastersportal will have a feature that estimates if you meet the cost and academic requirements of the programmes you’re interested in. Once you answer a few questions about your academic background and your available funds, we will compare your profile to the programme’s requirements.

The Academic section evaluates your situation on 5 topics:

The degree level you graduated;

The subject you previously studied;

Your grades;

Your work experience;

Your English level.

The Budget section evaluates if you meet the financial requirements of the programme:

The money you have for tuition;

The money you have to cover the living costs.

If you don’t meet all the necessary conditions but you still want to study there, you will know what areas you can try to improve on, or if you need extra funds to start your study adventure.

How do I use the Best Fit tool?

On most programmes listed on Mastersportal, you’ll see a box that says, “Check your fit with this programme.” Once you click on that box, you’ll see a panel asking you to select the set of questions needed to evaluate your Academic or Budget requirements.

Once you click on 'Academic', you’re taken to the first question: “When you start your Master’s programme, you’ll already have a __”. Here it’s asking you what kind of degree or diploma you will already have when you enrol in the Master’s degree programme of your choice. Will you have a Bachelor’s degree? Will you also already have a Master’s degree? You can select from the buttons underneath.

After you click on the correct option, the next panel will ask which university you received your degree or diploma from. You’ll first be asked to name the country where that university is located, and then you should be able to find the name of your previous university in the drop-down.

The next part is asking you which subject you studied when you received the degree you’ve selected. This is still talking about your previous studies, so be sure to put in the name of the degree you already have a diploma for when you start applying for the new one. Type it into the field, and your subject should show up on the list.

Now you have to explain how well you did during that programme. Be honest; you’ll want to get the most accurate estimation possible, so you can know whether your grades were enough to be considered for the programme.

Furthermore, it will ask you which grading system you used. Did you study at an American university? Did your university use a British or European grading scale? When you select the right one, you can also see what your overall grade or GPA is, according to the system at your university. If none of the Grading Systems matches yours, just select "Self assessment”.

Because some Masters want to know whether you also have relevant work experience, you can choose that in the next panel. Many admission committees want to know whether you’ve also worked in the field.

Finally, you’ll need to select your language skills. Typically, if you’re looking for a programme outside of your home country, the university wants to be sure that your language skills are good enough to participate in their classes. Have you taken a TOEFL or IELTS test? Then definitely put those scores in the table. If you haven’t, but you have an idea about your English level, you can click "Estimate your own level”.

Once you’ve finished, you’ll be directed to a panel where you will see how well your choices match the programme requirements. Each complete circle means you fully fit those requirements, while incomplete circles show you how much of the full requirement you match.

Next, you can also select the Budget tab and click "Take Test”, to see how well your available budget matches the costs connected to the programme.

The first panel in the Budget section will ask you to select how much money you have available to spend on your tuition fees per year. This does not include the full cost of your degree tuition, just the costs for one year of studies. Set a sum you will realistically be able to spend on your tuition every year.

The final step is to select how much money you can spend to live in the country during your studies. This amount includes the money you will have to spend every month on accommodation, paying for utilities, food, study materials, clothes, and any other extra expenses. Select a sum, just like before.

Now you can see how well your available funds match the programme requirements. If both circles are full, that means you have enough money to study that programme. If not, that means you need extra money. Consider a student loan to make sure you have enough to study that programme.

That’s it! You have the option to save your selections, by creating an account on our website. This way, your Academic and Budget choices will be kept when you search for different programmes. So, if you’re interested in another programme you will instantly be able to see how well you match it, without having to answer the questions again. If you don’t create an account, your Best Fit choices will be deleted after 24 hours.

The Best Fit tool does not guarantee your admission to a university

The estimation we give is based on information we receive from the university. Once you answer our questions, we can just measure how much you match the requirements set by the programme and university.

However, you should know that this information is based on how well you meet the university’s minimum requirements. There are other factors that play a role in where you’re applying, such as:

You might be asked to give a writing sample or portfolio. Sometimes you’ll have to supply recommendations. These are other requirements that you may need to show.

It’s important to also know that there is a lot of competition for university spots. You may have met the right requirements, but universities still need to choose candidates to fit their limited space. They can’t admit all of the smart, talented, ambitious, and hard-working students: there simply isn’t enough room for everyone!

Finally, you should keep in mind that the university and programme are the ones who make the final admission decision. Mastersportal (or Studyportals generally) can’t influence your admission to the programme in any way.

We’re simply telling you how well the programme admission requirements match your selected profile. Chances are: you should definitely apply! What do you have to lose?

Written by Kevin Potter Share on

Kevin studied literature in the U.S., the U.K., and the Netherlands before starting his position at StudyPortals. He feels lucky to be writing and generating content for young students who are seeking options in international education.

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